The subject of today’s episode may surprise you. I want to talk about expert marketing advice. As a library marketer, you should take the advice of experts, including myself, with a grain of salt. I’ll explain in this episode.
Plus our kudos will be given to a library that did some promotional work AFTER an event. I’ll show you why this is a brilliant strategy.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
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Artificial intelligence, or AI, has many implications for library marketing. And now, AI is changing how people search for your library on the internet. But…
There is one, relatively easy thing you can do to ensure people find your library when searching for it on ChatGPT, Google’s Perplexity, and Microsoft’s CoPilot. We’re going to get into it in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus we’ll give kudos to a library that’s cross-posting videos from one social media platform to another. Normally, this is a no-no but there is an exception… and this library is taking advantage of it!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
In a few weeks, kids in your community will head back to school. This time of year is a marketing opportunity for all libraries! Lucky for us, one of the major social media platforms just published a guide for marketing to back to school. I’ll share the top three takeaways for library marketing during back-to-school time in this episode.
Plus we’ll share kudos for a library that did something extraordinary by harnessing the power of their loyal library fans.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Library marketers want to make sure that their entire community knows everything the library has to offer. That’s a tall order.
Is it even possible? I have some advice about that today that may surprise you. We’ll get into it in this episode.
Plus we’ll give away kudos to a library that created a one-of-a-kind QR code with a complimentary campaign to educate the community about their offerings!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
One of my viewers is struggling with consistent messaging. They are wondering how to promote something across multiple channels without rewriting the text every single time!
This is a great question. And there’s a little trick you can use to save time and effort. I’ll share it with you in this episode.
Plus kudos go to a library for press coverage they received for their new RFID checkout stands. I’ll explain.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
Special note for viewers: The next episode of The Library Marketing Show will be released on Wednesday, June 5.
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
There’s some exciting new advice on how to create engagement on your library’s Facebook page. The 8 new tips are in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus kudos goes to an academic librarian who recently received a huge award!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
“My office is where the Children’s Department used to be,” recalls Ann. “When I started working here 18 years ago, some of the librarians from my childhood still worked here, and I remember feeling excited to meet them on my first day, almost as if I were meeting celebrities.”
“I consider myself very lucky that I have been able to work in a library. It’s not hard to market a product you love.”
Ann is the library’s Marketing and Public Relations Manager. Her team includes a full-time graphic designer, a part-time writer, and an assistant. Her library has one location, which has a distinct benefit, according to Ann.
“It’s very easy to get information and collaborate with co-workers,” she notes. “I work closely with our director, and fortunately, our library did a strategic plan two years ago. It was quite a process, but it has made my job easier in that there is a clear path forward with our marketing efforts.”
Ann is a rare library marketer in that she and her team have been tracking metrics on her library promotions for nearly two decades!
“The metrics we gather have evolved over time with the advancements in technology,” explains Ann. “We are now able to gather more information about the tools we use to achieve our marketing goals. And the dashboards on targeted emailing, social media performance, and Google Analytics are very telling.”
That data not only informs the promotions that Ann and her colleagues create, but it also helps stakeholders to understand the value and impact of their library marketing.
“We share these reports with the Board of Trustees monthly to inform them about our work and how we make data-driven decisions,” says Ann. “This helps them better understand our department’s operations.”
“I used these reports to justify my department’s size and marketing efforts. Our reports also include the number of printed brochures, rack cards, bookmarks, and more we produce. I used this information to advocate for adding an electric trimmer, folder, banner printer, and our department’s industrial copier. I was able to justify these purchases when I compared them to outside costs and estimated saved staff time.”
Her team uses many tools to create reports and analyze monthly metrics, including their email dashboard, social media scheduling platform, and website analytics dashboard. The whole process takes about 8 hours from start to finish.
“You might think that sounds like a lot, but this is time and effort that’s well spent,” states Ann. “We analyze the results and plan our path forward with this information. We can see what’s working and just as importantly, what’s not. We can quickly adjust to make our time more productive and impactful.”
“Every time your leadership team reads these, you are documenting the value of what you are doing. Their importance cannot be overstated.”
Those metrics come in handy as Ann plans marketing for the rest of the year. Her library recently purchased a bookmobile and is creating a new Outreach department.
“Our department is responsible for creating the bookmobile wrap, which is fun!” exclaims Ann. “We are in the process of a massive parking lot reconfiguration and addition. And we are also doing a tear out and reconfiguration of our circulation department.”
“Keeping our customers informed and up to date with these changes has been our first priority. And it’s our 100th anniversary this year. We have our work cut out for us!”
For inspiration, Ann just keeps her eyes open all the time.
“I’m always looking for great design and marketing,” says Ann. “It’s all around us! And there’s some bad stuff too. The trick is how to incorporate the good in your library efforts.”
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I’m sure you’ve heard by now that U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a bill banning TikTok in the United States. What would that mean for your library marketing?
Now that the dust has settled a bit on the coverage of the ban, and speculation from experts, we’ll dive into it in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus kudos goes to a library that received a Peabody Award nomination for their short-form video content!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 